Two Is Better Than One

Situated in Kilquiggan, County Wicklow, these adjoining cottages, knocked into one by the previous owner have been sympathetically restored.

Having had experience in renovating properties, Thomas Murphy, an electrician by trade, could see the rental potential one of these cottages would offer if he converted the property from one, back into two residences. It made economic sense to tackle the project in two phases, concentrating on one cottage first, which once completed, could help finance the second cottage. Both cottages needed a complete overhaul, and Thomas was keen to restore an authentic feel into both properties. He finished the first cottage two years ago and has recently finished the second cottage, learning from the experience of restoring the first cottage he knew exactly what needed to be done.

The second cottage was very dark and damp, there was no insulation and it needed to be re-roofed and new windows fitted. The whole cottage needed to be re-wired and re-plumbed, and as with the first cottage where all the stone work had been covered with layers of plaster which Thomas had to hack off, this all needed repointing to show it to its best advantage. ‘I did all this work myself, which was very labour intensive, but it had to done properly, so I spent any spare time I had working on the cottage,’ explains Thomas.